Weather Blog for Duluth and the Northland

Arctic air is pouring into the Northland early this evening as temperatures have dropped into the single digits below zero in northeast Minnesota and in the single digits above zero in northwest Wisconsin.

Temperatures will keep dropping, hitting the teens and 20s below zero in the Northland tonight and again Saturday night. Highs on Saturday will only reach about 8 below to 1 above zero, and Sunday’s highs will range from around 5 below to 5 above zero.

Northwest winds will gust between 15 and 30 mph through Saturday night, dropping wind chills to about 35 to 40 degrees below zero.

At the upper levels of the atmosphere, 850mb temperatures in the Northland are around -25 to -29°C tonight and Saturday, while 500mb temperatures drop to about -36 to -39°C on Saturday. The 500mb heights will bottom out between roughly 512 and 524 meters. These conditions are typical of Arctic air masses.

A bit of snow came ahead of today’s fresh blast of arctic air, with 0.5 inches measured at the Duluth National Weather Service and a full inch reported in International Falls.

A cold weather advisory is in effect for all of northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin until 10 AM Sunday, with an extreme cold warning lasting until noon Saturday for parts of northwest Minnesota and northeast North Dakota.

Wind chills ranging from 35 to 45 degrees below zero are expected to continue through Sunday morning, with the coldest wind chills likely in the extreme cold warning area.

From frigid arctic air this weekend to the possibility of record-breaking warmth in the Northland by next Tuesday.

Here are the record high temperatures for next Tuesday (December 16)

• Ashland, WI: 55 set in 2021
• Brainerd, MN: 54 set in 1939
• Duluth, MN: 50 set in 1913
• International Falls, MN: 43 set in 1913
• Hibbing, MN: 41 set in 2021

Hibbing and International Falls seem to have the best shot at setting a new record high next Tuesday, with temperatures expected to climb into the 40s across much of northeast Minnesota and around 40 in northwest Wisconsin based on the current outlook.

This warmup is caused by a deep low-pressure system, under 980mb, moving across Ontario, which will place the upper Midwest in the system’s ‘warm sector.’

Northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin aren’t expecting much precipitation in the coming days, but a strong system will move through late Wednesday into Thursday next week. Its track looks too far north to bring significant precipitation to the area, though some snow or a mix of precipitation types is still possible.

A bigger concern with this system could be strong winds, as another surge of arctic air might sweep across the Northland later next week.